Awakening
by Left 4 Zed
Summary: A man wakes up with no memory of his past. Can he piece together who he is AND survive the creatures that lurk in the streets?
1. Chapter 1: What's Going On?

…_Where…am I?_

I try opening my eyes, yet my eyelids refuse to budge. They feel as if they were replaced with lead weights.

…_What happened?_

What DID happen? Why do I feel so…weak? I can't move; I can't even open my eyes. All I can do is breathe and try to piece together what is going on.

I begin to panic. Not only can I not remember where I am or how I got here: I can't remember anything before waking up. If I'm even awake.

Okay, so I can't move, and I can't remember anything about who I am…this is bad.

Well, at least I'm not in pain; I feel…numb. Which is better than excruciating pain…right?

…

Am I dead..?

…

No. I don't think I am. If I was, I wouldn't feel so tired.

…

Hmm. That's strange. I think the numbness is starting to fade a little. I feel…stronger. Only a little bit, but it's still there.

The weird thing is that I think I'm…floating?

_So I AM dead…_

…No. It feels like I'm floating…in water?

I felt like the weight in my eyes was decreasing, so I decided I should try opening them again.

Slowly, I managed to crack them open. Everything was green, and it took me a minute to realize that I was surrounded by a greenish liquid.

Beginning to panic, I felt the numbness go down a small amount again. I began to stir, not really the flailing I was trying to build up, but any bit of movement was better than none at all.

I realized that, even though I was in water (or some sort of liquid), I could still breathe. That's when I began to notice my surroundings a little better.

I had some sort of…mask…over my mouth, which I assumed was the reason I hadn't drowned yet. I guess it fed me fresh air.

That's when I noticed I was in some sort of…glass tube? Strange…

I looked beyond the glass. I saw white tiled walls (at least I was pretty sure it was white) as far as I could see. There were steel tables and desks in the room my 'glass tube' was in. Beakers and flasks and other various glass containers were scattered around on the tables and desks, as well as several piles of papers. Some of the papers were scattered on the floor.

It was while I was looking at the floor that I noticed some fluids smeared across the floor. Everything still had a greenish tint to it, thanks to the green liquid I was in, but something about that smear on the floor was my heart beat quicken.

I decided at that moment that I wanted out. NOW. Regaining more control of my body, I began flailing about in my tube, desperately trying to do…something. I fist collided with the glass in front of me, and a tiny crack, too small to even let out any of the fluid, appeared before me. Setting my sights on that one crack, I began punching the crack as hard as I could.

Slowed by the liquid and that numbness that hadn't completely worn off, I made very slow progress. After a minute of struggling, the crack finally grew large enough for the liquid to leak out, barely a dribble.

I kept up my pounding, now desperate to escape. The numbness had officially left, and I began punching harder. The crack grew; now a decent amount of the cursed water began spilling out. After a few more punches, a small hole appeared in the glass.

Apparently the container couldn't handle the change, because after a moment the whole front of the tube shattered, spilling me and a massive torrent of liquid out onto the cold tiled floor.

Gasping for air, I merely lied there for what felt like an eternity, suddenly too weak to get off the floor. After a while, I slowly rose off the ground. Feeling glass under my hands as I pushed myself off the ground, I looked at myself to make sure that I didn't get cut up from the glass.

…That's when I realized I didn't have any clothes on…How I didn't notice that earlier still confuses me. Guess I was too concerned about everything else to notice…

…Ahem. In any case, it made it easier to inspect for injury. Amazingly, it appeared that none of the glass had lodged its way into my vulnerable skin. I had a small nick on my arm, possible from falling out of the jagged whole in the glass tube, but otherwise, I seemed okay.

…at least physically.

Now my mind returned to the issue at hand; I had no idea where I was, and had no memory of my past.

Sighing, I decided my best option would be to look for someone. Maybe someone in this building would know who I am and what happened. But first things first…

"I need some clothes," I murmured to no one in particular. My voice was pretty hoarse, as if I hadn't used it in a while. How long was I in that tube?

I saw a rack in the corner of the room that had a few pairs of scrubs on it. Although not my number one choice for clothing, it beat running around in my birthday suit.

Finding some scrubs that fit fairly well, I looked around the room once again.

That's when my eyes fell on the mysterious smear I saw earlier. The liquid from my tube my slowly clearing the smear off the floor, but even so, I could definitely identify the crimson substance on the floor.

It was blood…

The feeling of unease I had earlier returned. Something bad had happened here. The blood and the papers thrown carelessly across the floor was evidence to this. I had the strongest urge at that moment to forget my plan to ask for help and just run out of the building as fast as my legs could carry me.

I noticed a door on the far side of the room and quickly walked over to it. Opening it slowly, I cursed when it creaked open.

On the other side of the door was a long hallway. Following the décor of the last room, it had bleach-white tiles on the floor and walls. But what was the most noticeable detail about this hallway was the massive amount of blood. It was splashed all over the walls and pooled on various parts of the floor.

Any sense of calm I had retained until this point snapped. All I could think was that I had to get out of this building. NOW.

Jogging down the hallway, I slowed to a stop when I reached the end. Peering around cautiously, I looked into the next room.

It looked like the main entrance of the building. A reception desk was near my position. Chairs were lined up along the walls, a few tossed around the room. Once again, a massive amount of blood covered the area.

The entrance to the building was on the other side of the room. Freedom was in sight…

It was at this point that an inhuman screech filled my ears. It sounded like it came from outside…

I then heard a voice shout, "Hunter!" The voice was gruff, and seemed aged. When I heard it, I got an impression of a wizened, elderly figure.

I then heard that ungodly screech again, and another man's voice rose through the air. It sounded panicked, and his voice was raised a few pitches higher than I expected. He screamed, "Get it off me! Get it OFF ME!"

Then I heard an alarmingly loud bang. I thought it was a gunshot, but it was WAY louder than I expected it to be.

At this point, I was frightened beyond belief. But if there were people outside, maybe they would help me. I crept up to the doorway and looked outside.

I could see four figures in the distance. There was an elderly man, who I assumed was the first one to speak, a shaved bald man in a black leather vest, a young woman in a pink-red hoodie, and a black man with a white business suit on. That man was currently lying on the ground, and it was then I noticed a figure next to the man. It was in a blue hoodie and wasn't moving. The man in the vest cocked the shotgun he was holding. So that was why the gunshot was so loud…

The man in the vest looked at the man on the ground and smirked. "There. It's off ya. Happy?"

The black man glared at the man in the vest. "You shot the hunter off of me with a shotgun? You could have KILLED me!"

Smirking more, vest-man replied, "Damn. It's a shame I'm such a good shot. If only I'd missed and hit you instead."

Glaring even more at the vest-man, business-suit-man was about to say something when the girl interrupted what was sure to be a heated argument.

"Guys! Now's not a good time for this. Let's move before you guys attract a horde with your arguing."

That seemed to do the trick. The man in the vest shrugged and walked off a little. The black man got up, and he and the girl followed suit.

"Mercy Hospital is right up ahead," the old man said as they began walking again.

The man in the vest snorted. "Way to state the obvious, old man. We can all see the hospital. Not all of us are blind like you are."

The old man looked over at him and shouted, "Speak up, Francis! Your voice got all muffled from your head being so far up your ass!"

I had to cover my mouth to stop from bursting out laughing at that last comment.

When I looked out again, I saw they were heading towards the building I was in. So I was in this Mercy Hospital they mentioned…

But what was going on! They had guns on them! And what were they saying about hunters and hordes? And why were they heading towards a hospital? Why was there so much carnage, not only in the halls but outside in the streets as well?

It made no sense, and the only way I was going to get any answers was if I asked someone what was happening. And these people heading towards me were the only people I've seen, so…

Gathering all the courage I could (which wasn't much), I opened the door to confront this bizarre group…

And had a bullet wiz right by my head!

"Don't shoot!" I squeaked out, instinctively covering my face with my hands.

"Hold your fire!" I heard the gruff voice of the old man shout.

After a moment of waiting and not feeling the intense pain I was expecting to experience, I slowly lower my arms.

All four of them have their eyes on me. They each have varying looks of shock on their faces. I notice the girl and the black man have their guns tucked aside. The old man has his out but lowered. The only one with their gun still pointed at me is the man in the vest.

The vest-man spoke up. "You infected?"

I stare at him blankly. Infected? With what?

My blank stare only seems to annoy him. "You deaf or somethin! You infected or not?"

Not really sure what he's talking about, I decide to be as honest as I can. "I don't think I'm infected with anything..."

The man keeps his gun up for a few more seconds. Then, apparently satisfied with my answer, he lowers it, saying, "Well in that case, get outta my way so I can get to that safe room."

Safe room? Turning around, I see a room behind the reception desk I hadn't noticed from the hallway. I saw it had a red steel door. I guess that's a safe room?

The man in the vest walks into the room, and the others head that way, too. They stop when they reach me.

The old man stares at me. I can feel him evaluating me, judging me. It makes me a little uncomfortable.

He speaks up. "You have a group with you?"

Now that I can answer with some certainty. "No. I'm by myself."

I think I notice a slight softening of his features, but he's clearly good at hiding his feelings. The black man and the girl look at me, worry clearly written on their faces.

The girl is the first to say something. "You should come with us," she says.

The black man seems in agreement and, although it seemed with some reluctance, the elderly man said, "You can join us in the safe room, if you want."

Although I have no idea who they are, or if I can even trust this strange group, a wave of relief floods through me. After all, it's better than being alone. Especially when I have NO idea what is going on.

Smiling, I say, "Thanks." I follow them into the 'safe room'.

**I started writing this randomly, just because I thought the concept was pretty cool, and decided to actually put this on here. For everyone who has been reading my first story, I REALLY sorry I haven't updated it in forever; I've had a ton of work in college, and I had a bunch of papers to write for my writing class, so I haven't really been in the mood for writing :/ I think things are calming down a bit, so I might have another chapter or two of it in soon. Maybe…**

**For those readers, I hope this new story is an acceptable intermission. And for those who haven't read my other story or don't care, hope you like this (:**

**This is Left 4 Zed, signing out.**


	2. Chapter 2: Decisions

**Wow. I can't get this out of my head. So here's chapter two.**

**Oh, and the only Left 4 Dead property I own are the Left 4 Dead disk I bought and the 2 Left 4 Dead 2 disks I bought, since the first one broke (FAIL).**

I sat in the safe room, staring at the others, and vice versa, for several minutes. None of us really knew what to say…

…

Eventually, the black guy cleared his throat. I looked over at him, and he said, "Well, I guess we should all introduce ourselves."

There was a murmur of agreement, and then the black man continued, standing up and walking over to me. "I'm Louis." He smiled and held out his hand. Getting the hint, I shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Louis," I replied, slightly hoarse. It bugged me that my voice still seemed off, although, since I have no idea what I normally sound like, maybe my voice always sounds kind of hoarse.

The girl spoke up next. "I'm Zoey." She looked down, seeming a little embarrassed. "Sorry about almost shooting you earlier."

Oh, so she was the one whose bullet almost pierced through my head.

"It's okay. The important thing is you didn't hit me."

I see her breathe a sigh of relief. I guess she felt pretty bad about it. I smile at her. "Nice to meet you, Zoey."

Then the man in the vest speaks up next. "Name's Francis."

I nod in his direction, then I turn to the elderly man expectantly. He merely continues to clean the gun he's been cleaning since we got here.

Francis smirks, and I can tell he's about to say something to annoy the old man.

"And that fossil over there is Grandpa Bill."

Not even glancing over, Bill replies, "Anyone ever tell ya you sound a lot smarter when your mouth is closed?"

Zoey and Louis laugh, and I can't help but smile. I catch Bill's eye and say, "Nice to meet you, Bill." He shrugs and continues cleaning off his gun.

Gruffly, Francis asks, "So what's up with the scrubs? You a doctor or something?" He pauses for emphasis, then adds, "I hate doctors," looking over at me with mock hostility.

…at least I THINK it was mock hostility.

His question brought me back to the issue of my memory loss.

"Well, I don't THINK I'm a doctor…" I say meekly.

Francis snorts at my response. "You don't THINK you're a doctor? What's that supposed to mean?" He pauses, thinking for a moment. "And now that I think about it, you never gave us a name. So who are ya, kid?"

Everyone looks at me at that instant. Even Bill stops cleaning his gun to look at me. It made me extremely uncomfortable…

…

…especially when I realized: I didn't KNOW my own name.

Suddenly wishing I could disappear, I reply, barely above a whisper, "…I don't know…"

I stare at the floor, not really wanting to see the group's expressions. After a brief eternity of silence, Bill speaks up.

"And what in Sam's hill is that supposed to mean?"

I continue staring at the floor. I somehow manage to squeak out my explanation.

"I-I woke up…just a little before I met you guys. I think-I think I was in a coma…or something. I…can't remember anything…"

More silence follows, and I get up enough courage to look up at the group.

Francis looks deep in thought, an expression that looks a little bizarre on his face. Louis and Zoey look honestly concerned for me. Bill looks…serious, but from what I can tell, that's normal.

Feeling extremely embarrassed, I continue. "So-uh, sorry…but I can't really tell you guys my name…cause I don't know what it is…" I impulsively scratch the back of my head with my hand, not really sure what to say from there.

Fortunately, Francis speaks up then, and to my relief, he doesn't say something to insult me. "So what, you got like amnesia or something?"

"…I guess so…"

Louis pipes up. "You know, head trauma can do all sorts of nasty things to your head. Maybe you hit your head on something and blacked out. Someone might have taken you to the hospital." He seemed to think for a moment. "That could also explain why you can't remember anything. Like I said, head trauma can cause all sorts of trouble."

I think about this for a moment. Well, it DID explain a lot. But what about that crazy tank I was in when I woke up? I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that isn't normal procedure for head trauma.

"Well…that MIGHT explain it…" I said uncertainly.

I look over at Bill again. Bill and his gun. Wait…

I suddenly remembered there was another problem. Something was clearly wrong with the city. But what?

I speak up, a little tentatively. "Uh…so this is probably going to sound pretty stupid, but…what's going on with the city? Why is there blood and gore everywhere? And why do you guys have guns?"

They all look at me as if I grew a second head. Bill exclaims, "For Pete's sake son, are you telling me you don't know about the infection?"

I look down again, embarrassed. "Well, I DO have amnesia…and I've been in a coma…"

Settling down a bit, Bill sighs, then replies, "Well then we have a lot to tell you before we head out again."

…

My mind is practically spinning after hearing everything that's happened the last couple of weeks. An infection that drives people crazy? That's turned them into…monsters? Zombies? And weird mutations that turn some of them into some strange super-zombies with special abilities?

I shake my head, as if that action will settle the thoughts in my head. "This is just…too much."

I look at the group, dumbstruck. "How could all this happen?"

Zoey looks at me, a sad smile on her face. "To be honest, we don't really know much about the 'how.' We don't know how the infection started. We just know what it does to people."

Her face brightens a little, and she continues. "But at least we're immune to the infection."

I look up at her in surprise. "You guys are immune?"

She ponders for a moment before replying, "Well, we've all been bitten, scratched, and generally mauled for two weeks and haven't changed, so I'm pretty sure we're immune."

I smile when I hear the positive assurance, but then a thought comes to mind that shatters that joy.

"But…I don't know if I'm immune…"

Zoey looks at me in shock. Clearly she hadn't thought of that. Louis looks equally surprised. Francis tenses up when he hears that. Bill…still looks serious…

Francis is the first to speak up. "Well it's no use crying over it. Either you're immune, or you're not, right? If you are, then maybe you can get out of this hellhole. If not, then at least I have one more vampire to gun down."

That…really didn't make me feel any better…

…

The group decided to rest for a little longer before moving on. Apparently, there was supposed to be a rescue chopper on the roof of the hospital. So that's why they were heading to the hospital…

"So is it alright if I go with you guys?" I ask, a little sheepishly.

Louis immediately replies, "Of course you can! Right guys?"

"Yeah. Definitely," Zoey replies with a smile.

I'm really starting to like those two.

Francis shrugs. "Like I said, if ya DO turn, it just means one more vampire for me to kill."

"Zombie, Francis," Zoey replies to Francis' comment. Then, glancing over to me, she adds, "But I'm sure it won't have to come to that. If you haven't turned yet, I'm sure you must be immune, too."

I smile at that; Man, Zoey knows just what to say to cheer people up…

But my smile fades when I realize someone's still hasn't answered my question.

Glancing over at Bill, I see him in deep thought.

Finally, he answers. "Okay, you can tag along." Then he looks me in the eyes, setting a stern look on his face. "But don't expect us to babysit you. You have to hold your own out there. If you fall behind, don't expect us to stop to help you. My priorities are keeping this team alive; I'm not gonna jeopardize that for you. You understand?"

…

Wow…

That was…brutal.

Gulping, I nod, suddenly unable to speak.

Zoey and Louis both looked shocked at Bill's answer. Zoey was practically shooting daggers at Bill with her eyes.

Alright. So summary of how everyone would react to me in danger…

Zoey would help. Louis would try to help, too. Francis would probably point and laugh at me. And Bill…would just ignore me.

…

…Well, I guess it's still better than trying to run around by myself.

….

After several tense moments, Francis finally breaks the silence in the room. So are we goin or not? Grab some weapons and move your asses to the door, people!"

That seemed to stir everyone to action. Bill got up, grabbing the gun he's been cleaning, which I recognize as an assault rifle. Francis grabbed the shotgun he used to shoot the hunter off Louis earlier, a combat shotgun. Louis rose and grabbed a submachine gun off of a nearby table, as well as what looked like a magnum handgun. Zoey gave me a small smile, then rose as well, picking out a hunting rifle and two pistols.

I walked over to the table to look at all the options I had for weapons. I'm no gun expert (as far as I know), but I could easily recognize the weapons set up there. There was what looked to be a pump-action shotgun, another submachine gun, another hunting rifle, one pistol, and a crowbar.

…

…I have NO IDEA how good a shot I am with any of those guns…

Well, I have to try SOMETHING. I grab the pistol off of the table, deciding it would probably be the easiest weapon there to shoot. I also decide to take the crowbar, as well. After all, it doesn't take much experience to swing a crowbar.

Walking over to the door with the others, I see them giving me a strange look.

Louis clears his throat and says to me, "You should probably get some extra clips for that pistol."

I wanted to face-palm when he said that. DUH! Ammo! It's not like pistols have unlimited ammo! Going back to the table, I grab some pistol clips out of the ammunition pile and stuff them in my pockets.

I'm about to head back over to them when Zoey adds, "And you might want to get a first-aid kit off that shelf over there."

That's when I notice that they all have first-aid kits strapped to their backs. Am I THAT unobservant?

I head over to the indicated shelf, but I pause in mid-stride as I walk by a mirror.

Oh, yeah. I have no idea what I look like…

Going over to it, I examine myself as thoroughly as I can. Dark brown hair, a little on the long and shaggy-looking side: pale skin, not sickly-looking, but obviously I haven't had much sun in a while: a little short, about…5'4"? Maybe?

From what I could tell, I had a pretty lean body. Not really any excess fat. I'm definitely not ripped, but I have an okay amount of muscle.

I have pretty cool eyes. Instead of a single solid color, I had a jagged ring of brown around my pupils, and a ring of green around that. So I guess they're hazel, but a pretty cool hazel.

My face was remarkably clear of acne, shocking considering I look around Zoey's age. I had a bit of chin stubble, as well as some sideburn stubble.

All in all, I'm fairly pleased with my appearance. I'm not exactly Prince Charming, but I look pretty good, I guess.

"Quit gawking at yourself and get ready!" barked Francis at the door. I'm snapped back to reality, and I look over at them sheepishly, scratching the back of my head.

"Sorry. I just…didn't know what I actually LOOKED like."

That seemed to settle Francis down a bit. "Yeah, well…just hurry up, okay?"

I glance at myself one last time before continuing to the shelf. First-aid kit now secured to my back, I head back over to them.

But just as Bill is about to unlatch the door, a thought struck me…

"I still don't know what my name is…" I mumble, not to anyone in particular.

Smirking, Francis says, "Hell, I was just gonna call ya amnesia boy."

Sighing, Bill looks over at me. "Well, we have to call you something, kid."

Louis seems to be thinking about something, then an idea pops into his head.

"What about Kid?"

"Kid?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

…

Honestly, I can't think of a good reason why not.

Louis continues. "Besides, it's better than giving you a real name. After all, what if you remember your name at some point? Then we would have to remember TWO names. This way, it won't get as confusing."

He had a point. But…

"I'm not a kid..."

Sighing, I decide that it will have to do for now. For now, we had more pressing matters to attend to.

Getting into position, Bill opened the safe room door…

…and all hell broke loose…

**Dang it! I wanted infected in this chapter! Oh, well. They're certainly about to run into some now. Muahaha!**

…

**So yeah. Hope you guys liked this. Can't promise updates in the near future, but I'll try!**

**This is Left 4 Zed, signing off.**


	3. Chapter 3: Learning to Fight

**Hey world (: I'm going to do another chapter of Awakening because I like where I'm going with this.**

**Sarah: Um, don't you have another story you've been procrastinating on for like, two months?**

**Me: …Stop judging me. You're not even in this story, Sarah!**

…**Yeah…sorry if a lot of you guys have no idea what I'm talking about. Enjoy the chapter (:**

**And unless a billion dollars magically shows up on my doorstep, I doubt I'll ever own Left 4 Dead. So no one sue me!**

I-I don't think I can do this…

As soon as the door opened, the group ran out, picking off any nearby infected. The first one I saw (that didn't already get blown to bits by the others) made me literally freeze up in fear.

It was horrifying. It was a woman. She looked like she might have been attractive before the infection. Now, her grey skin and milk-colored eyes made me want to pass out from fear.

And the blood…

While I was momentarily stunned, she saw me. Her face twisted into a vicious snarl, and a second later, she started charging after me, shrieking the whole while.

Finally stirred into action, I grabbed my handgun and started shooting at her.

…It was embarrassing…

My first shot wasn't even close to hitting her. The next two shots were a little better, but none of them hit either. My fourth shot finally hit the infected's arm, not lethal, but it did stop her advance and momentarily stun her.

I used that moment my advantage and tried to finish her off, but it took another three shots before I managed to hit her in the stomach. This finally made her stumble to the ground, dead.

…and it only took me seven shots to do it…man, I suck…

Deciding I might want to save my rapidly dwindling handgun ammo for when we would need it, I swapped out my pistol for my crowbar.

The next infected I ran into saw me as I was approaching. Fortunately I only paused for a half-second this time, instead of freezing up like the last one.

The infected man-probably a businessman before the infection, since he was wearing a suit- charged at me, just as frenzied as the last infected.

I took a step forward, pulled back my arm, and swung the crowbar with all my might…

…to be rewarded with the sickening sound of metal hitting flesh and bone, and a wave of dark-red blood spraying all over me…

…Gross…

Holding back the urge to hurl, I wiped the blood off my face as best I could with my scrub sleeve. But by the time I finished, another infected saw me and began to run towards me.

Swing-crunch-splash-and now I have blood all over the front of my scrubs. Charming…

"Hurry up, Kid!"

Turning towards the source of the noise, I spot Zoey looking at me, gesturing me in the direction she's running. I can just barely see the others over there, getting further and further away. Jeeze, I didn't even realize how far away the others were getting…

"O-okay."

Running behind Zoey, we catch up with the others before-of coarse-more infected appear.

…but then I hear a new noise in the sea of screaming crazies.

It's a low…growling? Yeah, definitely growling. That must mean there's a Special Infected around.

Going through the list of infected the others told me about, I remember that the infected that growls is-

"There's a Hunter around here," Bill informs us. I knew it!

Okay, so Hunters make a growling sound when they're crawling around getting ready to pounce on you. When they're about to actually leap at someone, they-

Interrupting my train of thoughts, the Hunter lets out an inhuman shriek, similar to the one I heard right before I met up with the others.

…Oh God, he's about to attack someone!

Just as I think that, I feel a weight slam into me, knocking me to the ground. Disoriented, it takes me a second to realize that the Hunter pounced…ME!

Claws…teeth…pain…blood…

…I'm gonna die…

I hear a loud **BANG!** and suddenly, the Hunter stops attacking me, slumping over. Dead.

"Merry Christmas."

Francis! Thank God!

Smirking at me, he holds his hand out to me. I grab it and get up, a bit shakily.

"That…was…not fun…" I say, voice cracking more than usual.

That makes Francis laugh. "You can say that again."

"Thanks for helping me, Francis."

"Hell, I enjoy shooting those hoodie freaks."

I look around. The others have just finished off the infected in the area. Trying to muster up as much courage as I can, I say aloud, "I guess we should keep moving."

Bill nods. "Let's head up the staircase, people."

"I HATE stairs," Francis grumbles, heading over to the staircase anyway.

After moving up one floor, we see that the way to the next floor has been barricaded off.

Bill curses our luck. "Guess we'll have to find another way up on this floor."

After we leave the staircase, Louis looks over at me. He looks concerned.

"Hey Kid, you alright? It looks like that hunter really did a number on you."

I hadn't even really noticed my injuries until then. Immediately, I begin to feel the pain of my injuries. My chest and stomach are bleeding pretty badly from my ordeal. I also have a lot of cuts and scrapes on my arms.

"Crud."

Zoey walks over to me, unstrapping her first-aid kit in the process. She says, "I got this." Looking at the others, she adds, "Watch our backs."

I felt a little uncomfortable having to take my shirt off so Zoey could wrap up my injuries. Zoey, however, seemed completely unfazed. Probably because she's been patching up the others since the infection began…

…Zoey…is kinda pretty…

No. Stop thinking like that. Now's not exactly a good time to be daydreaming…

Zoey finishes patching up my torso and move up to my arms. But when she looks at my right shoulder, she gasps, paling. I'm not that beat up, am I?

"What's wrong, Zoey?"

"Y-your shoulder. It-has a bite mark on it…"

Looking over, I see that, indeed, a round wound is on my shoulder. I guess that hunter must have bit me.

By now, everyone has their attention on me. They're all tense. Uh-oh. I guess getting bit is a bad thing…

"W-what's gonna happen?"

Zoey answers, averting her eyes. "Well, if you're immune, then it doesn't mean anything…"

…

Barely above a whisper, I croak out, "And if I'm not?"

No one answers. No one needs to. It's obvious what happens if I'm not immune…

…

For a moment, we all just stand there, speechless. They're all looking at me: worried, sad, concerned…

I can't stand them just staring at me like that…

I finally break the silence.

"Well…it's no use crying over spilled milk. We…we should keep moving. It's not safe here."

That broke the tension. Well, maybe not broke it, but it at least cracked the tension. There were a few murmurs of agreement, and then we moved on.

After investigating the new floor, I began to get the hang of killing the infected. I no longer paused before attacking them, and even the blood affected me less.

I decided to practice shooting a little more on a few infected in the area, in case I actually needed to hit something with my shots. With my nerves a little more steady, my aim improved a noticeable amount. I can now take out an infected in anywhere between two to five shots. Once I actually hit an infected in the skull, killing it instantly.

Headshot!

…not as much fun as in the video games…

Suddenly, I heard a new noise. It was some sort of weird gurgling. Gurgling…

"I think that's a Boomer, right?"

Bill nodded approvingly. "Good ears, Kid. Yep, that noise is a Boomer. Make sure not to let it throw up on you. And make sure NOT to be anywhere near it when it pops!"

Oh, yeah. Their vomit attracts the common infected. And when they get hit, they explode, hitting anyone nearby with its vomit.

…Double-gross…

As we went down the hallways, the gurgling got louder. I had my handgun out. After all, I didn't want to hit this thing with my crowbar…

I turned a corner…

…And ran straight into an extremely fat infected. The Boomer…

…Crud.

I saw the Boomer open its mouth, preparing to spew chunks at me. Reacting quickly, I shoved him away from me. He wobbled back, his arms flailing around to keep balance. It would have been funny, if not for the danger I was still in.

Backing up what I hoped was a safe enough distance, I aimed and fired my pistol. It hit the Boomer square in the stomach. Immediately, a huge explosion erupted out from where the Boomer was standing…

…chunks landed as close as my feet…

…Dang, that was close!

Apparently, the others saw what little tussle with the Boomer. Bill tapped my shoulder, saying, "Good shootin, Kid." Louis and Zoey were impressed, too. Even Francis seemed like he thought I might have some skill.

To be honest, that was mostly luck…

A moment later, the sounds of several infected approaching could be heard. Francis bellowed, "We'd better get outta here before these guys decide we make a better meal than all this Boomer crap all over the walls."

We raced away, passing a few infected racing to where the Boomer exploded.

Turning another corner, I missed what they were doing when they got to the Boomer remains.

"Do they really EAT the Boomer barf?" I ask, a little disgusted.

Francis scratches his beard, thinking. "Actually, no. They just sorta…attack. Anything that gets covered in that crap."

"Hmmm…"

An idea pops into my head.

"Hey! What if the Boomer puke has a bunch of pheromones in it?"

"Pherowhat?"

"Pheromones. Queen bees use pheromones to tell the other bees what to do. What if Boomer puke has pheromones in it that tell infected to attack? That would explain why they would ignore everything that isn't covered in the stuff."

Francis thinks about it for a second. "Hmmm…I guess that makes sense…" Then he shakes his head, presumably to clear his thoughts.

He looks at me, frowning. "You sure you're not a doctor or something?"

"I told you already: I can't remember."

Francis snorts. "Sure. You can't remember that, but you can remember what a bunch of bugs do."

…

Actually, he has a good point.

Frowning, I respond. "It's weird. I can remember a lot of facts, but nothing about me personally. I can remember the quadratic formula, but I can't remember if I have any family…"

The more I think about it, the more upset I get…

Louis pats be on the shoulder- the shoulder with the bite mark on it. OUCH!- and says, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. You can worry about it when we're all safe and sound."

Pain aside, I did feel a little better.

"You're right. Thanks, Louis."

He smiles, and we continue forward.

Eventually we reach an elevator that seems to actually be working. With this, we can almost go straight to the roof!

…but there's a problem.

"I'm sure this elevator's gonna attract a lot of attention. We should get ready for a horde," Bill tells us.

…Gulp.

We've fought a lot of infected on our way over to here, but we never actually ran into an official 'horde.' From the way everyone's getting into position, I can tell it's not going to be very pleasant…

There's a large pile of different ammunition on a nearby table. I'm happy about that; I was starting to run pretty low on handgun ammo.

Everyone got some extra ammo for the big fight. I noticed a fireman's ax next to the table.

Hmmm…it's quite a bit heavier than my crowbar, but I bet it could do a lot more damage to a group of infected…

Leaving my crowbar on the table, I lift up the ax. I take a couple of practice swings, then head over to where the others are positioned.

Bill speaks up. "Everybody ready?"

Various grunts and nods respond to the man's question, and then he hits the button for the elevator to come down. Of course, the elevator was at the top of the shaft…

"Get ready people!" Bill shouts, just as the sound of a TON of infected can be heard sprinting towards our position…

**Cliffhanger time! Sorry, but at least you know there's going to be a lot of action at the beginning of the next chapter (:**

**I cannot stress it enough how much I enjoy reviews! They're the only thing that gives my life meaning!**

…**Okay. That's an exaggeration. BUT I do enjoy getting reviews. Even if you don't have anything to say. It makes me feel important XD**

**This is Left 4 Zed, signing out (:**


	4. Chapter 4: Elevator Madness

**I'm back! I've been playing Left 4 Dead 2 and Dead Island in my free time, as well as watching the first season of The Walking Dead on DVD. Twice.**

…**I think I have an addiction O_O**

…

**TIME FOR CHAPTER FOUR! XD**

I swear my heart literally stopped beating for a second. Infected swarmed around the corner of the hallway. There were so many, I couldn't even see the hall behind them. And they were sprinting straight at us…

By the time I managed to calm down enough to react, the others were already firing down into the tidal wave of infected. Blood and gore flew all over the place. The infected were literally blown away from the torrent of bullets the others were firing off. It actually looked like they had things under control…

But then I noticed something strange…

The screaming and shrieking of the infected weren't just coming from the hall. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere.

...That's when I noticed the banging coming from the walls on our sides…

The others didn't seem to notice. Probably because they were occupied with the threat in front of them.

"Um, guys?"

At that exact moment, infected burst through the walls on both sides of us!

"Shit! Everyone, take a side and shoot!" That was Bill's gruff voice, just audible through the sound of guns firing and infected shouting.

Almost immediately, the four of them all got into position. Bill took the right side, mowing down infected with his assault rifle. Louis took the left side, his submachine gun doing just as well at mowing down the infected there. Zoey and Francis took the center hallway, Francis standing in front of Zoey. Francis shot down anything that got close with his shotgun, while Zoey picked off the further off ones.

…They did that so fast…without any real instruction…wow…

..And I was just standing there, looking like an idiot.

Shaking myself out of my stupor, I pulled out my handgun. I decided that Louis looked like he needed the most help and stood next to him in the opening on the left.

I shot, not really aiming at anything in particular. The only benefit of so many infected in one place is that you can't possibly miss hitting something.

I saw bodies flying back against the combined force of our guns. I saw an infected man- who looked like he was a patient here- have his blown clean off his shoulders. I saw bullets whizzing into several infected, bloody holes appearing in various location on them. I numbly wondered which bullets were mine, and which ones were Louis's.

"Reloading!" I heard come from two people behind us. It was Francis and Zoey. I realized that – since Francis has a shotgun and Zoey has a hunting rifle – it would take a few seconds for them to be able to reload.

…and in a few seconds, they could become surrounded with infected…

Whipping around, I start firing down the hallway, making sure I aim FAR away from Francis and Zoey. After all, I'm still not exactly an expert shot. I only manage to shoot twice before my clip runs out of ammo, and I quickly pull out my ax, running up in front of Francis.

I get there in time to stop a former nurse from clawing at Francis' face. I swing my ax, hitting her square in the chest. There's a sickening _Thwack!_ as the ax blade slices straight through, severing her in half.

…Gross…but kinda cool…

Several more infected approach, and I swing my ax around again, managing to kill two infected at once and pushing back three other infected.

Boy, am I glad I decided to pick up this ax!

After a few more swings, however, I started to get a little tired out. Man, that ax was heavy!

But I pushed through, until I heard a hacking cough and felt something wrap around my stomach…

…What the heck?

Then I started to get pulled…down the hall…into the mob of infected!

I tried to get loose of…whatever had me…but my arms got wrapped up by it. Then it wrapped around my legs, and I fell over.

…Not good…

I look down the hall and see the source of the problem. An infected is standing at the end. He looks particularly disfigure, with giant tumors covering the entire left side of his body. It looked like there was a long rope coming out of its…mouth?

…I was being tied up by its tongue?

_Triple-Gross!_

The infected dragged me towards him. When I got closer, I noticed the cloud of green smoke around him.

_So this must be a smoker_, I thought, just as I reached him. Then I thought, _This is going to hurt_.

But just before it stuck me, a bullet whizzed by, hitting the smoker right in the skull. The appendage around me loosened, and a massive puff of smoke exploded out of the smoker as it fell to the ground.

…Of course, I was right next to the smoker, so I inhaled an air-full of nasty green smoke.

Coughing like a dedicated chain-smoker, I got to my feet, unwrapping the creepy tongue-rope around me.

"You alright?"

It was Zoey. So she was the one that shot the smoker…

"I guess so…but I really hope we don't run into any more of those…"

That made her laugh. Francis, shotgun now fully loaded, walked up, blasting a few infected behind me.

"Less talkin and more shootin!"

Right. Still fighting a horde.

I decided to stick with Francis and Zoey. I stood next to Francis, picking off infected with my handgun before they reached us.

As the group in front of us began to diminish, I heard a piercing screech – hunter – and Bill curse. Looking over, I saw a hunter pounce Bill.

Not trusting myself to be able to shoot the hunter off without hitting Bill, I ran over to his location, pistol whipping the hunter. That knocked him off, and I rapidly shot at the hunter before he could recover.

I went through half a clip, but I managed to kill the hunter.

Bill pulled himself off the ground and immediately began shooting down the lane again. The infected had used those precious few seconds to get extremely close to us, and I decided Bill would need a little help clearing them out. Taking position next to him, I fired off the rest of my clip, then switched to my ax again.

After a minute or so, the wave died down, and I noticed the waves the others were facing were diminishing, as well. Just as I swung my ax down on the last infected, I heard a small _Ding!_

…Of course the elevator shows up AFTER we faced off against tidal wave of infected.

"Elevator's here! Get yer asses in here!" Bill shouted, running into the elevator.

"Way to state the obvious, gramps!" Francis replied. Just as he got in, I heard him grumble, "I hate elevators..."

Everyone ran in, and Louis hit the top button. After the elevator doors slid shut, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Louis looked over at me, a smile on his face. "Wow, Kid. For that being your first horde, you did a good job back there." Then his smile grew into a broad grin. "Scratch that – you did an AMAZING job."

I scratched the back of my head, a little embarrassed at what he said. "Yeah, right. I totally panicked when that first wave showed up. And when they started pouring through the walls…" I ended it there, shaking a little just from the memory.

This time Zoey spoke up. "Well, yeah. Of course you would freeze up the first time something like THAT happens. But you recovered pretty quickly." Now she's grinning, too. "Not to mention you TOTALLY saved me and Francis' asses back there when we both needed to reload our guns."

"Well, yeah, I guess…but-"

"You also managed to get that hunter off me before he did anything serious," Bill added.

At this everyone turns their head to Bill. Louis, frowning, says, "A hunter pounced you? I didn't even realize…"

From the others' looks, I would guess they hadn't realized, either.

Bill, with just the ghost of a smile, looked over at me. "Well it wasn't on me for very long. The Kid made sure of that."

They all stared at me, each with an approving look on their faces.

Scratching the back of my head, I looked away from them. "Really, guys. I don't see why you guys are fussing. I didn't really do all that good back there. It was YOU guys that were amazing back there…"

Out of nowhere, Francis flicked his finger at my forehead. Ouch.

"Aw, lighten up there, rookie. Take credit where credit is due. You did pretty good out there. Maybe not as good as me, but then again, no one's as good at me at taking out those vampires."

This was met with three sets of rolled eyes from the others.

Before we could continue on our conversation, the elevator doors began to open. I swear it took a LOT longer going down than it did going up. Maybe that has something to do with the saying, 'time flies when you're having fun.'

Yeah. And time crawls when you're fighting off hordes of zombies.

As soon as the doors opened, everyone grew serious again.

Bill walked out first, saying "Let's move out, people."

Quickly checking how much ammo I had left for my pistol, I followed behind.

The floor we exited on must have been under some serious construction. The outer walls were gone, leaving only the support beams to prevent the whole thing from collapsing on us. Wooden boards and bags of cement were scattered all over the place.

Lightning flashed, illuminating the city below…

…wow…

And I thought the hospital looked bad. From this view, I could see a good portion of the city.

It was in ruins…whole buildings were destroyed. Some were on fire, some fallen over into the streets below. I don't even want to THINK about what could have caused that…

I couldn't see many details, but the streets looked just as bad. The darkness couldn't hide the red. The blood. It was all over…

I couldn't stop the shiver that ran down my spine.

"Hurry up, Kid!"

Jerking back to my current predicament, I realized I had stopped walking when I saw the city.

_Focus!_

Jogging over to the others, we resumed our march.

After a minute of walking around aimlessly, picking off a few stray infected here and there (I really WAS getting better at shooting them), Bill spoke up.

"We're close to a safe room."

…how did he know that?

"Um…how do you know that, Bill?"

That earned me a snort from Francis. "Maybe it was the painting on the floor up ahead that gave it away."

Sure enough, just a few feet ahead of us, there was a painting on the floor. It was a painting of a house, with a plus sign inside of it. An arrow pointed from the picture to around the corner. I guess that means a safe room is in that direction…

"Oh…"

Francis smirked. He was just about to open his mouth – probably to say something insulting – when Louis spoke up suddenly.

"Do you hear that?"

Everyone stopped for a second and listened. Now that he mentioned it, I DID hear something…

…It sounded like…crying?

"Shit. There's a Witch around here."

Oh yeah! They said something about a Witch when they were explaining the 'Special Infected.' Apparently, Witches cry. They don't attack you unless you get too close, or you do something to tick her off. When they DO attack…

The others never explained how Witches attack, but if the look in everyone's eyes was any indication, you do NOT want to have Witch attack you…

As we followed the trail of painted houses and arrows, the crying got louder.

"Shit. Looks like we're gonna have to fight it," Bill eventually said. Looking past him, I saw a small figure ahead of us.

It was clearly an infected woman. She looked incredibly malnourished. She looked like she could be dealt with easily! So why was everyone so on-edge about her?

Then I saw the claws…

Oh…

Still, if we all stood back a bit and someone shot at her, wouldn't that solve our problem?

Before I could voice my thought, however, Francis walked past Bill, heading towards the Witch. Snorting, he mumbled, "I'm not afraid of some anorexic vampire."

He moved up close to the Witch, prepping his shotgun. As he approached, the Witch starting growling.

Francis fired, hitting her square in the stomach – at close range – with the shotgun. Everything I had encountered so far could easily be killed with a shot like that!

…but the Witch didn't die!

With unnatural reflexes, the Witch shot up, letting out a blood-curdling shriek.

"Fuck."

And with that, Francis bolted down the hallway…

The Witch chased after him, running at a speed I didn't think possible from something that looked so weak. I ran after the two – the others not far behind – with no idea what to do.

I put my pistol away and got my ax ready. I didn't trust myself to shoot at the Witch when she was right in front of Francis. If I missed, I would certainly hit Francis.

Of course Francis tripped over a bag of cement while he was running. He didn't fall over, but he fumbled for a second to keep balance.

That was all the Witch needed to catch up. Just as Francis recovered, she swiped at him with one of her hands, scratching Francis and knocking him to the ground.

_Bud-ump_

The Witch was about to tear Francis to shreds!

_Bud-ump_

Picking up an extra burst of speed, I raced up to her.

_Bud-ump_

I leapt forward, swinging my ax over my head.

_Bud-ump_

Bringing it down like a pendulum, I slammed the blade right down on her skull. A sickening crunch sound came, followed by the ax blade slicing halfway through the Witch's skull.

She gave out one last screech, then fell to the floor. Dead.

After pulling my ax out from the infected, I ran over to Francis.

"Are you okay!"

"Yeah…except fer my pride."

This time it was my turn to snort at him. Smiling, I held out my hand. Accepting it, I helped him get up.

Just as the others catch up, Francis says, "Well, I think we found the safe room."

Looking over at where he's pointing, I see a red, steel door not that far away.

Wow…the Witch chased Francis all the way to the saferoom…

**And that's the end of the chapter. Not exactly a strong ending, but…meh. I actually had most of this done a while ago, but I never finished it…sorry.**

**Things are going to get pretty interesting in the next few chapters. We start learning more about Kid's mysterious past. Hopefully, we get to learn Kid's real name soon. WHY did I pick a nickname as ridiculous as Kid?**

**Review. You know, if you feel like it…**


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